Ariane 5 Rocket Lifts Off for Final Launch of 2010

By Nancy Atkinson - December 29, 2010 at 2:23 PM UTC | Missions

One final rocket launch in 2010 took place as Arianespace successfully launched the Hispasat 1E and KOREASAT 6 telecommunication satellites aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. Liftoff was at 4:27 p.m. EST (21:27 GMT).

KOREASAT 6 is a commercial telecommunications satellite of the KT Corporation of the Republic of Korea and was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation. Hispasat 1E is a telecommunications satellite designed to expand Hispasat's coverage in Europe, the Americas, and North Africa.

This is the sixth and final flight of the year for Arianespace's heavy-lift rocket.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com